REVIEWS

Minivans. How come they get no respect? They're a terrific way to haul gear and people in comfort, get decent fuel economy, and do the heavy lifting. Bah! Humbug! We've heard you say. Minivans are kid-haulers and not much else.

Every time we go on the road, the Honda Odyssey is first choice as a support vehicle. It's popular not only for its load-carrying capacity, but the photographers and MTOL video crew love shooting out of those power sliding doors. But we don't recommend doing that. We're the professionals after all.

SO MUCH to say, so much to praise. The Odyssey is the best family vehicle on the planet. The 255-horsepower V-6 gobbled up the multiple 10,000-foot peaks in Colorado and left SUVs in its wake. More than 20 mpg while going 70-plus mph loaded with over 300 pounds of family and stuff is astounding. Int

Our Honda Odyssey chaperoned associate editor/photographer Brian Vance on a 2000-mile round-trip trek to Moab, Utah, for a week of camping and canoeing. He collapsed the fold-flat-into-the-floor third-row seats and loaded the Odyssey with tents, food, water, and supplies. During his considerable roa

Ever since it debuted the second-generation Odyssey in 1999, Honda's been setting the bar for minivan quality and performance. A typically conservative Honda design, the Odyssey its sheathed in elegant lines wrapped around the basic minivan box, creating a suitably upscale appearance.

With each new Odyssey, Honda reestablishes its dominance in the minivan marketplace. It does this not only by winning magazine comparison tests, but also at the dealer level, where "additional dealer markup" seems the often-used phrase of the Honda sales reps. Everyone needs the people-and-stuff-mov

Let'S Be Bold here and assume you're secure in your manhood; that you can forget about going to Las Vegas in a Lincoln Town Car, because that's what everyone else is driving; and that you've grown out of spelunking from casino to casino in the greasy back seat of a clapped-out Crown Vic cab. With al